


The Way The Story Goes

by annalikestotalk



Category: Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency (TV 2016)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Nightmares, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-08
Updated: 2017-04-08
Packaged: 2018-10-15 07:04:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 998
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10552078
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/annalikestotalk/pseuds/annalikestotalk
Summary: Todd has never been a deep sleeper, not really. Even when he’s exhausted his sleep can still be broken by the quietest of sounds.It’s because of this that he hears the gentle creak of the door as someone pushes it open in the middle of the night.





	

Todd has never been a deep sleeper, not really. Even when he’s exhausted his sleep can still be broken by the quietest of sounds.

It’s because of this that he hears the gentle creak of the door as someone pushes it open in the middle of the night.

He hasn’t gotten around to fixing the lock yet, something he regrets as the noise of feet shuffling across his floors greets him. He hasn’t moved yet, and is just starting to think about how to defend himself when there’s a quiet sniffle and a soft voice following it.

“Todd?”

“Dirk? What…” In the low light, Todd can just about see a dark outline pushing the door closed behind it. There’s another small sniffle and the figure moves closer to hover by the side of his bed. “What’s going on? Is there a case?”

The shadow that is Dirk shakes its head, and Todd scoots over a bit and motions for him to sit down on the bed. There’s a little bit of light tumbling in through the window and Todd can now clearly make out his figure, but his head stays stubbornly turned away, towards the darkness filling the apartment.

“Dirk? This… this isn’t a case thing, is it?” Dirk shakes his head again, and Todd notices a minute tremble in his shoulders. “Are you okay?”

He reaches out his hand and lays it on Dirk’s shoulder, which tenses, then begins to shake as small sobs start to wrack Dirk's body.

“Hey. Hey, it’s okay. Come here.” Todd pulls on Dirk’s shoulders, turning him towards him and wrapping his arms around him. Dirk grabs onto his arms like they’ll keep him together, and sobs and shakes against Todd’s chest. “It’s okay. I’m here. You’re okay.”

Todd isn’t sure what’s happened, but he’s pretty sure those are Dirk’s pyjamas, and he feels pretty safe in assuming that this is the aftermath of a nightmare. Dirk has mentioned having them before – never in detail, but in passing, brushed over and discarded before there’s a chance to examine it. Todd knows project Blackwing weren’t exactly kind to Dirk, but the man in his arms is still crying and holding onto him as if he’ll disappear any moment. Todd tries not to be a violent person, but Farah’s shown him a thing or two about how to throw a punch, and his hands are itching to put that knowledge to use right now. The lingering poison of Blackwing in their lives is the only thing that manages to make him this angry.

Dirk’s hold on him hasn’t slackened but the tears seem to have ebbed, and the man is quietly hiccupping. If it were a different situation, and Todd weren’t so furious at the people that did this to him, Todd might let himself think it was cute. As it is, he’s just worried.

“Dirk?” He runs a hand through Dirk’s hair, and he makes a small sound and raises his head. Todd gives him the best smile he can manage right now, which is, admittedly, small. “Hey, buddy. You feeling a little better?”

Dirk nods. Todd’s smile becomes a little more genuine.

“Good. That’s good. Nightmare?” Dirk nods again.

“You wanna talk about it?” Dirk shakes his head frantically, breathing speeding up again and face becoming panicked.

“Woah, hey.” Todd moves his hands up to cup Dirk’s cheeks. “You don’t have to. It’s okay. Breathe, Dirk. It’s okay.”

Dirk’s hands grab onto Todd’s wrists and he takes in a deep, slow breath. Todd nods encouragingly.

“There you go. It’s okay.”

Dirk’s looking at him with wide, damp eyes. The soft light from the window makes them look like they’re shining, and Todd feels his own breath go a little strange for a moment.

Dirk leans back and Todd lets him go. He looks around the apartment, the set of his shoulders hesitant and his lip held in his teeth like he’s gathering up the courage to say something. Todd speaks before he can.

“You need to stay?” Dirk’s eyes shoot back to him, and Todd suddenly feels a little nervous. “I mean. I just thought you might not want to be alone. And, we can share the bed, if you want, or I can take the sofa. It’s not like it would be the first sofa I’ve slept on.”

He lets out a small, self-conscious chuckle.

“Todd?” It’s a whisper, barely audible, and the hoarseness of Dirk’s voice doesn’t help.

“Yeah?”

“Thank you.”

Todd’s shoulders relax as he blows out a breath. Dirk smiles at him, soft and beautiful in the dim light, and pulls the covers down to slide underneath them.

“So…” Todd glances around the room and waits for Dirk to tell him what to do.

“Stay.” He whispers, and Todd smiles to himself, laying back down and pulling the covers up over his shoulders.

Dirk is lying there, in front of him, same big eyes and soft smile that made Todd’s heart skip a beat earlier. He doesn’t know how close he’s supposed to be, doesn’t know if Dirk needs space or touch right now, but the question is answered for him when Dirk reaches a tentative hand forward and rests it on his chest. He meets Todd’s eyes almost shyly, and when he does nothing but smile back, he seems to take it as permission to move forward and drape himself over Todd’s chest.

His weight on top of him is warm and comforting, and Todd smooths a hand down his back as he settles. Dirk makes a small, contented sound and lays still. He lays there, listening to Dirk’s breathing, feeling the movement of his chest against his. He tries to match his own to it, breathing slowing and becoming deep and even as he begins to fall asleep.

Before he slips into unconsciousness, he allows himself to lean forwards a little and place a gentle kiss against Dirk’s hair.

Stay.

He thinks he can manage that.

**Author's Note:**

> This is so short and there's zero substance, but I liked writing it anyway. I'm not impressed by the ending, but ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯
> 
> Come talk to me on tumblr @annalikestotalk


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